Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 1,800 Shares of American Financial Group, Inc. $AFG

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund decreased its position in American Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:AFG) by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,858 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in American Financial Group were worth $3,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 144.3% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 215 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of American Financial Group by 86.7% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 422 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in shares of American Financial Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AFG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on American Financial Group from $127.00 to $124.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of American Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on American Financial Group from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded American Financial Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, American Financial Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $136.75.

Insider Transactions at American Financial Group

In related news, Director Stephen Craig Lindner, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.31, for a total value of $1,343,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 326,730 shares in the company, valued at $43,883,106.30. The trade was a 2.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 17.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

American Financial Group Stock Performance

AFG opened at $130.93 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.44. The company has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.74. American Financial Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $114.73 and a 1 year high of $150.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

American Financial Group (NYSE:AFG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The insurance provider reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. American Financial Group had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 9.21%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.56 EPS. Research analysts expect that American Financial Group, Inc. will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

American Financial Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 24th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 15th were paid a $0.88 dividend. This is a boost from American Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. American Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

About American Financial Group

American Financial Group, Inc, an insurance holding company, provides specialty property and casualty insurance products in the United States. The company offers property and transportation insurance products, such as physical damage and liability coverage for buses and trucks, inland and ocean marine, agricultural-related products, and other commercial property and specialty transportation coverages; specialty casualty insurance, including primarily excess and surplus, executive and professional liability, general liability, umbrella and excess liability, and specialty coverage in targeted markets, as well as customized programs for small to mid-sized businesses and workers’ compensation insurance; and specialty financial insurance products comprising risk management insurance programs for lending and leasing institutions, fidelity and surety products, and trade credit insurance.